[charlotte95]

I have a few questions about applying for vet medicine

1. Which unis like/dislike resits of as (really think i mucked up biology)
2. I have been possibly the most unlucky person with lambing (i volunteer at a farm every day i came in (which was a lot) no lambs and i went on a lambing day at a college and still no lambs!!! does anyone know of anywhere in the southampton area i could do some lambing experience?
3. if i don't have lambing will that seriously reduce my chances
4. What are my chances of getting into a scottish uni (i live in england )
5. If all goes crap can i do a zoology degree and then a vet med ???

Thanks
Charlotte

[gapyearstudent]

well I don't know about the other questions but I'm starting a Biochemistry course in September and then I'm planning to do vet med as a graduate so I'm sure you can do the same with a zoology degree.

[clair0511]

(Original post by charlotte95)
I have a few questions about applying for vet medicine


2. I have been possibly the most unlucky person with lambing (i volunteer at a farm every day i came in (which was a lot) no lambs and i went on a lambing day at a college and still no lambs!!! does anyone know of anywhere in the southampton area i could do some lambing experience?
5. If all goes crap can i do a zoology degree and then a vet med ???

Thanks
Charlotte

(Original post by gapyearstudent)
well I don't know about the other questions but I'm starting a Biochemistry course in September and then I'm planning to do vet med as a graduate so I'm sure you can do the same with a zoology degree.

Yes you can apply as a graduate BUT competition is fierce, some unis still want you to have the right A level grades AND it costs a fortune - I think 26,000 pounds a year for Edinburgh! See the graduate thread for details - it is definitely NOT the recommended route to vetmed!

Re: the bad luck with lambing, you have my sympathy: I'm at vet school and have currently done 14 night shifts (4pm till 8am) at our equine gynaecology clinic and have seen only 1 birth!!! And that was a "red bag" birth in a mare with a really horrific heart murmur and dodgy lungs - neither foal not mare survived

[kalouki10]

Bristol, Liverpool, London and Nottingham don't mind resits. I had to resit my whole year 12 due to exceptional circumstances. They said as long as I have a valid reason and my head teacher writes my UCAS reference thingy and explains it, then they won't judge me differently to other candidates.
As for work experience, I'm sure that if you go to a farm to see lambing, and no lambs are born they won't make too much of a fuss as you may just have been very unlucky! I only saw 2 lambs on my first lambing placement =(. But they will expect that you have learnt about other things, such as shearing/dagging the ewes, worming, foot trimming, castrating the lambs etc. and why its all necessary. Try and find some lambing and you may need to put on your personal statement that you intend to do it. If not just make sure the rest of your work experience is as varied as possible and includes the other basics.
I can't answer your questions about Edinburgh and Glasgow as I'm not going to be applying to them, so I haven't really looked into them. I do know people in my sixth form who have gotten into scottish universities for medicine (I'm the only potential vet in my year group at school), so you will probably have as much chance as anybody else!
Also yes you can definitely apply for veterinary medicine after you have done a related degree as long as you scored a 2:1 or more =).
Hope this all helped and sorry for the essay! =')

[Beccy99]

(Original post by charlotte95)
I have a few questions about applying for vet medicine

1. Which unis like/dislike resits of as (really think i mucked up biology)
2. I have been possibly the most unlucky person with lambing (i volunteer at a farm every day i came in (which was a lot) no lambs and i went on a lambing day at a college and still no lambs!!! does anyone know of anywhere in the southampton area i could do some lambing experience?
3. if i don't have lambing will that seriously reduce my chances
4. What are my chances of getting into a scottish uni (i live in england )
5. If all goes crap can i do a zoology degree and then a vet med ???

Thanks
Charlotte

Regarding the lambing I don't think they'll hold it against you. You can still learn from the experience and you could always talk to the farmers more about possible cases they've seen in the past?

I'd been told the whole 'you won't get into Scottish universities' line but applied regardless. I'm half scottish and fell in love with Edinburgh when I went up. I got an interview and have been put on the wait list for an offer. When it was my interview day I'd say it was 1/2 english to scottish. BUT, the statistics for getting in to Edinburgh if your english are pretty harsh, I can't find the exact numbers but there seems to be a vastly reduced chance compared to scottish leavers. Don't let it put you off though. I didn't want to apply to Cambridge or RVC and so I had to decide between Glasgow and Edinburgh!

I wouldn't recommend going the graduate route. If it doesn't work out, reapply with a better application and then reevaluate. Its expensive and time-consuming!

Good Luck!

[SilverstarDJ]

1. Which unis like/dislike resits of as (really think i mucked up biology)

This should be written on their website entry requirements, if in doubt, email them. I resat some modules of AS & A2 and also has to extend sixth form by a year due to exceptional circumstances (which were mentioned in my head of sixth form's reference). I still got interviewed at RVC, Liv, Cam & Notts, and on some of these which I didn't get into, their feedback was nothing to do with my exams. I know someone else who repeated all of AS year as she didn't do well enough, and moved to a different school, and still got in. Can you resit a few modules of AS to bump your score up rather than starting from scratch and repeating a year? If so, then work hard and try to improve your score, and I am sure there will be a lot of Unis who will be willing to take you providing you strong points elsewhere in your application. If you did badly because of teaching issues (e.g. AS teacher leaving part way through, or off sick for a long time, your school should write this in their ref). Again, check with the Unis what their policy is!


2. I have been possibly the most unlucky person with lambing (i volunteer at a farm every day i came in (which was a lot) no lambs and i went on a lambing day at a college and still no lambs!!! does anyone know of anywhere in the southampton area i could do some lambing experience?

Look up the internet & yellow pages for numbers. Lambing happens 2x a year, you can still get some lambing in your xmas holidays! If you can't fine a farm nearby, ring up and ask if farmers will let you stay with them, or stay with family/friends or book a B&B.

Again, as others have said, it's not just about seeing a lamb being born, its about the care of the ewes too!


3. if i don't have lambing will that seriously reduce my chances

Ideally, lots of Unis like this, but it's not the be all and end all! One Liv vet here didn't do any. Be sure to make up for it in other ways - calving for instance, or other farm placements. Include a variety in placements (whatever that may be) overall and if you can do weekends for a number of months, then that shows commitment also.

4. What are my chances of getting into a scottish uni (i live in england )

No idea, I never applied as I felt it was to expensive to travel up there and too long a journey. Technically, They are not allowed to discriminate and favour scot students.

5. If all goes crap can i do a zoology degree and then a vet med ???

Yes, but the fees are horrendous. Not sure what they are, but you pay full tuition fees for your 2nd degree (£20k?/year for some, possibly more now with all the changes) and I am not sure whether you can get loans to cover this. This route is not an easy one - grad entry is extremely competitive too! You're better off saving yourself 3 years of hard work, and huge costs and take a gap year and re-apply. Some unis like reapplicants (like Liverpool) and these people are often more ready for Uni than people who are fresh out of college. A year in your life is not a long time, and if your heart is set on this, that is probably you best route if you don't get in this time round.

[charlotte95]

Thanks everyone your advice is very useful

[kookabura]

Just to agree with the comments people have already made - no point in me repeating the same things.

But just wanted to reitterate about doing another degree first. This is NOT an easy option or route into vet med in anyway at all!!

Everywhere expect Nottm, RVC and Cambridge charge full fees for a graduate. This is currently £20,000 per year ish - some maybe slightly less, some more. They go up every year, by the time you graduate you could easily be heading towards £30,000 - that could be in the region of £120,000 to £150,000 for tuition fees alone. Add to that accom, living costs, transport, cost of placements and that you cant really work much during holidays. You would in reality be topping over £200,00 for a degree - just make sure you realise this before you look at that route.

Nottm, RVC and Camb charge the same as normal undergrads, so £9000 this year, but again, will be more by the time you come round to applying. That is assuming they are still working on this and haven't gone to full fees like everywhere else. Cambridge charge college fees on top, so come in at maybe a little less than 'full fees' at other unis, but still v expensive.

So that pretty much leaves RVC and Nottm - so they are very, very competitive for grads. Nottm take very few grads per year, RVC take more, but have a very high applicant to place ratio. You are still going to be looking at around £50,000 for fees, plus everything else. Yes, people do get in by this route, but please make 100% sure you know what it involves before going down the route of another degree and then realising you have a degree you don't really want and no way to fund vet med. In so many peoples cases it would be sooo much cheaper and quicker to take a gap year or two - work/earn money/do work exp/resit alevels etc. In many cases graduates end up redoing a levels as well to make their application more competitive.

In terms on sponsorship/loans etc. Don't plan on relying on them. As a grad you can only get a maintainence loan (which doesn't even cover my rent). You can't get anything else from student loans. You may be able to get a career development loan towards the end of your degree - but I think that is currently a max of £30,000. No one I know has *ever* got significant funding or sponsorship - I know people who have applied to loads of grants etc...and get may a few £100 to £1000 for one year...but that isn't going to touch the amount you need.

Sorry if this sounds too direct...I'm just trying to make sure that if people go down this route they do it with their eyes open totally aware of what it involves. So many people get bad advice from careers advisors etc and then realise too late.

[dizzeedollee]

(Original post by charlotte95)
I have a few questions about applying for vet medicine
4. What are my chances of getting into a scottish uni (i live in england )

^
I can help you with this one! I live in London and I applied to Edinburgh so the information is more relevant for Edinburgh but I would assume the system they use is pretty similar. I got an offer from Edinburgh so it's definitely not a myth that people from England can get into Scottish unis!

Having said that however Edinburgh vet school recently published a couple of stats explaining how they distribute their places. The Scottish government fund places for Scottish home students so they have to place a limit on the number of Scottish students that can be accepted into certain degrees. In Edinburgh, for the normal D100 vet med degree 33 out of 72 places for undergraduates are allocated to Scottish home students and EU students. The rest of the 39 are allocated to students from England, Wales and Northern Ireland. So although it is possible for an English student to gain a place at a Scottish university, as you can see it's a lot easier if you're Scottish.

If you're worried about costs and travelling to and from Scotland, I live in London and flight with easyjet to Edinburgh costs around £16 - £23. Hope that helps

[clair0511]

(Original post by dizzeedollee)
^
Having said that however Edinburgh vet school recently published a couple of stats explaining how they distribute their places. The Scottish government fund places for Scottish home students so they have to place a limit on the number of Scottish students that can be accepted into certain degrees. In Edinburgh, for the normal D100 vet med degree 33 out of 72 places for undergraduates are allocated to Scottish home students and EU students. The rest of the 39 are allocated to students from England, Wales and Northern Ireland. So although it is possible for an English student to gain a place at a Scottish university, as you can see it's a lot easier if you're Scottish.

or if you're from another EU country!

I know loads of Austrians who are going to study in Scotland (not VetMed necessarily) as it is free for them too. Surely loads of other Europeans are also taking this opportunity to get a "British" education for free (usually with a much better reputation than their home uni) and taking up spaces which the Scottish government has paid for

Don't want to start a big discussion here but I do think it's very unfair.....(my Grandma was born in Glasgow by the way ) If they are still running Scottish unis like this in 10 years time maybe my eldest daughter will enroll with her Austrian passport (she has dual citizenship!)

Sorry for the off topic post!

Good luck to all of you getting a place, wherever you end up!

[charlotte95]

dizzieedollee
i take it u are currently at edinburgh then
What it like i was very impressed by the open day and thier website which is why i want to apply. Is there anything like experience etc you had that you think sealed your place if you get what i mean

[ChelsRottie]

With regards to lambing tbh I don't think they're bothered by your experience of the actual birthing, they're much more interested in the management side i.e. diet, health problems pregnant ewes might encounter, docking/castrating, the breeding cycle etc. Farm experience is really to get a good idea of the industry itself.

[SilverstarDJ]

(Original post by charlotte95)
dizzieedollee
i take it u are currently at edinburgh then
What it like i was very impressed by the open day and thier website which is why i want to apply. Is there anything like experience etc you had that you think sealed your place if you get what i mean

No particular work experience can "seal a place" at any Uni. You must have minimum they stipulate, and probably a lot more. You need to gain a large variety of placements (both husbandry and vets), as much as you possibly can in the time you have! Additionally, it is not just work experience that gets you a place, it's your UCAS statement (apart from some e.g. Liv who don't ready your PS, but others do!), predicted grades, interview performance, and what you learnt from your placements (almost all asked me about my placements, or questioned me about something relating to my placements).

Good luck in applying

[dizzeedollee]

(Original post by charlotte95)
dizzieedollee
i take it u are currently at edinburgh then
What it like i was very impressed by the open day and thier website which is why i want to apply. Is there anything like experience etc you had that you think sealed your place if you get what i mean

^
eep sorry for the late reply, didn't see this!
hopefully if my a levels go well i'll be at edinburgh in september
to be honest i have no clue of what the interviewers were looking for so i won't be able to help you there i will say however that at two of my interviews they did say that they were surprised with how much experience i got despite living in london (i had about 22 - 23 ish weeks and i'm a first time applicant) so i suppose that initially impressed them enough to get me an interview?

[Turkey Dinosaur]

(Original post by charlotte95)
2. I have been possibly the most unlucky person with lambing (i volunteer at a farm every day i came in (which was a lot) no lambs and i went on a lambing day at a college and still no lambs!!! does anyone know of anywhere in the southampton area i could do some lambing experience?

I personally would look further afield. You are not that far from Wales which has lots of large rural sheep farms (= plenty of quality lambing experience).

3. if i don't have lambing will that seriously reduce my chances

I depends how strong a candidate you are in general and what other farm experience you have. If you are otherwise a strong applicant (= good grades, D of E Gold, plenty of alternative work experience, etc) and you've done a lot of dairy work (for example) you shouldn't be at much of a disadvantage.

4. What are my chances of getting into a scottish uni (i live in england )

A much higher proportion of places go to Scottish, EU and International students. Similarly there are a lot of anecdotal reports of strong English candidates being rejected without any negative feedback. Who really knows?

If you genuinely want to be a vet I would warn you against pinning all of your hopes on getting into one vet school, regardless of where it is.

5. If all goes crap can i do a zoology degree and then a vet med ???

It is possible but it is just as competitive (if not more so) an there are no guarantees of success. Going to vet school is expensive these days but the graduate route is 2-3x that. Not recommended unless you have no other choice.